But later on Thursday President Zelensky said Ukraine had suffered losses and a lot of aircraft and armoured vehicles had been destroyed. And https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-many-tanks-did-russia-lose-in-ukraine.html added that any intervention from outside powers to resist the Russian attack would be met with an "instant" and devastating response. He urged Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone to lay down their weapons and go home, but said clashes were inevitable and "only a question of time".
Many analysts say Beijing in particular is looking on as it formulates its own plans to reunify Taiwan with mainland China. The fear is that if Russia is allowed to invade Ukraine unresisted, that might act as a signal to other leaders that the days of Western powers intervening in other conflicts are over. If war broke out in Ukraine and Russian forces occupied large swathes of the country, many civilians might flee. In 1994, the UK - along with the US - signed a memorandum at an international conference in Budapest promising "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine". They also promised to provide assistance to Ukraine if it "should become a victim of an act of aggression".
Ukraine crisis: UK considering further military deployments and ‘unprecedented’ sanctions – as it happened
Mr Wallace explained that sending UK troops to fight in Ukraine - an ally of the UK but not a member of the Nato military alliance it is part of - would trigger a European war. The UK does have plans to extract the Queen, other members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and top officials from London in the event of a nuclear attack, and into bunkers dispersed across the country. British prime minister Boris Johnson will speak to Russian president Vladimir Putin later on Monday, as London attempts to pressure Moscow over its troop build-up on the border with Ukraine. Russian military vehicles are reported to have breached Ukraine's border in a number of places, in the north, south and east, including from Belarus. A lot of the stark warnings we are hearing from our own government should be seen in that light. Your parents are likely to pay even more for gas and electricity because of this crisis.
- Mr Putin has frequently warned other countries against intervening in Ukraine.
- A spate of Ukraine-linked attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure have reportedly led Moscow's energy ministry to propose restricting flights over energy facilities.
- He called on Moscow to engage in meaningful talks when he spoke alongside the Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a joint news conference at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
- As cars queued on Ukraine's border with Moldova, the country's pro-EU president, Maia Sandu said she was declaring a state of emergency and was prepared to give help to tens of thousands of Ukrainians.
Watch Boris Johnson call the Ukraine invasion "wanton and reckless aggression" by Russia. US President Joe Biden has ruled out sending troops even to shepherd American citizens out of Ukraine because he said if Russians and Americans end up fighting that would be World War III. The conflict is likely to remain confined to Ukraine and Russia in terms of actual fighting. This is a question lots of you put forward and has been tackled by our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes here... It has sent military equipment, weapons as well as ammunition as well as anti-tank drones to Ukraine, however, Germany’s has refused to send “lethal weapons” to Ukraine.
Russian invasion of Ukraine: UK government response
In the Baltic republic of Estonia, which borders Russia, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said a number of Nato allies that shared borders with Russia had agreed to launch consultations under Nato's Article 4. Under the defensive alliance's treaty, Nato can be brought together if any member fears their independence or territory is under threat. Thursday's invasion followed weeks of escalating tensions, as Russia massed troops along Ukraine's borders. In the capital Kyiv, home to almost three million people, warning sirens blared out as traffic queued to leave the city and crowds sought shelter in metro stations. "We don't understand what we should do now," one woman called Svetlana told the BBC.
- Russia could also justify a further invasion of Ukraine by recognising the territorial claims of the two separatist governments.
- He vowed to protect people from eight years of Ukrainian bullying and genocide - a Russian propaganda claim with no foundation in reality.
- A succession of Western leaders, including President Joe Biden, have made the complex journey to Kyiv.
- Hours earlier Ukraine's president had asked how a people who lost eight million of its citizens fighting Nazis could support Nazism.
Nato powers are already promising to build up their own forces in the alliance's eastern flank. After 2,000 anti-tank weapons were delivered last week and 30 British troops arrived to teach Ukrainian forces how to use them, the phrase "God Save the Queen" began trending on Twitter in Ukraine. Some bars and restaurants in Kyiv were offering free drinks to anyone who had a UK passport. Nato member states have increasingly sent Ukraine air defence systems to protect its cities, as well as missile systems, artillery and drones that helped turn the tide against Russia's invasion. Russia's long-time leader was also desperate to prevent Ukraine from entering Nato's orbit, but his attempt to blame the Western defensive alliance for the war is false.
The beauty giant Avon has been criticised for its Russia links, despite the ongoing war. At the outset of the conflict, the company said it was stopping investment in Russia, where it has a large worker base, and was ending exports from its Russian factory to other parts of the world. However, research by the BBC has discovered the company is still recruiting new sales agents in Russia, with recruits offered prizes, cash bonuses and even holidays for hitting targets, the broadcaster reports. About 10 civilians are believed to have been killed, including six in an air strike in Brovary near the capital Kyiv. A man was also killed in shelling outside the major eastern city of Kharkiv. Tanks and troops have poured into Ukraine at points along its eastern, southern and northern borders, Ukraine says.
- When Vladimir Putin sent up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine on 24 February 2022, he wrongly assumed he could sweep into the capital, Kyiv, in a matter of days and depose the government.
- Over the Christmas period, Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone strikes across cities in Ukraine including Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Lviv.
- In his first major speech on defence, Grant Shapps said the country was moving from a "post war to a pre-war world".
- Russia has captured the town of Soledar this year and has hopes of seizing the eastern city of Bakhmut on the road to key cities to the west, and of recapturing territory it lost last autumn.
- The UN human rights commissioner says at least 8,006 civilians have died and 13,287 have been wounded in 12 months of war, but the true number is likely to be substantially higher.
A spate of Ukraine-linked attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure have reportedly led Moscow's energy ministry to propose restricting flights over energy facilities. If the US abandons the military alliance, it will fall to European countries to ensure a Ukrainian victory, Mr OBrien says. European countries have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO.